Practice tig, fixed bad post.

admin

Dont know why my first post was truncated; pic size maybe. Anyway I started laying some beads on a chunk of al 1/4". Just changing settings and travel speed, using 3/32 tung and filler set at about the machine pic settings . AC for the al, and dialed the ac intensity up and down to see what it did. Not much. Mild steel using 3/32 red tung and 3/32 and 1/16 e70 filler. The process seemed to work well and what I need primarily is hand eye foot control. The big holes are where I lost track of the puddle  and didnt push in the filler. Did the toothpaste trick on my lens and that helped a lot but I seem to get lost in the arc; puddle edges  I can see but that arc... anyway I think I was running hot as I had some undercut on both sides of the fillet, not much but some. Needless to say it isnt hard to spot my touchdowns. This stuff is fun though it got kinda hot on the steel after awhile. Thin gloves are nice but not much insulation. I also found that my filler rod would stick just slightly to the edge of the puddle; this could get a bit distracting. Stops also would end with a small hole in the puddle. Need more practice for sure on starts and stops.Last edited by sunline; 09-01-2008 at 11:11 AM.Airco 300 squarewaveMig welding center...Powcon sm300/LN 25Powcon sm200/PD lHypertherm PM 1100Miller AEAD 200LE W/LN25 FCand now another sm200 pd l combo.
Reply:Slow down and focus on the puddle more.  Try getting the filler as close to the center of the puddle as possible, it will help control the puddle better and eliminate the sticking you mentioned.About how many amps are you running?  It does seem to be pretty hot, which is saying alot for 1/4" material.Your using a foot pedal?  Pay closer attention to where your foot is in the range of the pedal.  You need to start backing off as the material heats up.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Slow down and focus on the puddle more.  Try getting the filler as close to the center of the puddle as possible, it will help control the puddle better and eliminate the sticking you mentioned.About how many amps are you running?  It does seem to be pretty hot, which is saying alot for 1/4" material.Your using a foot pedal?  Pay closer attention to where your foot is in the range of the pedal.  You need to start backing off as the material heats up.And what is this toothpaste trick you mentioned?Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Thanks, I am not sure on amperage as I cant see the panel on the welder when welding and havent had anyone around to read the meters. Do have a pedal and back off when it gets obviously hot. Seems when I tried to get the filler in the center of the puddle I would stick it  to the tung. Thanks to David R for the trick of spreading the collet slightly so tungs will drop out for easy reshaping. Toothpaste trick is from earlier post here. Thanks for the tips, I am self taught so it is appreciated. http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=23650Airco 300 squarewaveMig welding center...Powcon sm300/LN 25Powcon sm200/PD lHypertherm PM 1100Miller AEAD 200LE W/LN25 FCand now another sm200 pd l combo.
Reply:Using a # 6 cup, what sitckout would you all recommend?Airco 300 squarewaveMig welding center...Powcon sm300/LN 25Powcon sm200/PD lHypertherm PM 1100Miller AEAD 200LE W/LN25 FCand now another sm200 pd l combo.
Reply:gas lens or not?  With #6 cup and a lens I can run a 1/2 of stickout with no problems, but I usually keep it around 3/8-1/4"As for hitting the tungsten, that will just get better with pratice.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:No lens, just cup. Thanks, I was starting out pretty close and had problems seeing what was going on so moved it out to 3/8 or so.Airco 300 squarewaveMig welding center...Powcon sm300/LN 25Powcon sm200/PD lHypertherm PM 1100Miller AEAD 200LE W/LN25 FCand now another sm200 pd l combo.